David Mendel Reiff

David Mendel Reiff was born on February 22nd. 1873 in Polangen, Russian Empire which became Lithuania.

Before emigrating to South Africa at the age of 21 years old, David reportedly worked or trained at a photographic studio in Rosenow, Germany.

Abraham, his father was in South Africa during the time of the Boer War and at the age of 26, David joined him around 1893. Soon afterward, he joined the Goch Studio in Johannesburg, an important early photographic business situated on Pritchard Street.

Around 1901, he was appointed manager of the Talba photographic studio in Kimberley. The Talba studio was located opposite the Kimberley library and was one of the city’s documented early studios. This means David was not merely an occasional photographer. He had sufficient experience and reputation to manage an established commercial studio by his late twenties.

While living in Kimberley, David married Russian-born Lena Leven, when he was 22 years old at the Kimberley Synagogue in October 1901

After their marriage, David and Lena moved to Ermelo, where he operated a photographic studio. He became well known for documenting the people and streets of the growing Transvaal towns. Several historians of early South African photography recognize him as one of the region's pioneer commercial photographers. They had two daughters:

• Jessie Reiff (married Maurie Adler and had a daughter, Lynette who married Harold Levius).
• Lena Reiff (born around April 1904, died June 1904)

Sadly David’s wife Lena died of heart failure in April 1904, possibly in connection with the birth of the younger Lena. The infant Lena died approximately three months later.

In September 1911, he remarried Lithuanian/Russian born Esther Sale and they had four children:

• Ida Reiff
• Joseph Isaac Reiff
• Sybil Reiff
• Frederick Abraham Reiff

David later worked as a photographer in Standerton, probably from the early 1910s until approximately the mid-1920s.

The historical source describes him as a prominent member of the local Jewish community. Standerton’s first Hebrew congregation had been founded in 1898, and Jewish merchants and professionals played an important role in the town’s early development.

Beyond his professional career, David was an active and respected Freemason. Initiated in 1896, he eventually became Worshipful Master of his lodge and was awarded a Past Master's Jewel in recognition of his service. His Masonic affiliations included lodges in Standerton and Wakkerstroom, and he remained a member for nearly thirty years.

Later in life, David apparently left photography and then ran a bottle store in Wakkerstroom before moving north to Southern Rhodesia settling in Plumtree, then onto Bulawayo.

He died there in September 28th. 1946, reportedly aged 75. His widow Esther remained in Bulawayo until her death in April 1st. 1968.

Life Chronology